Fashion Tips

Saturday, July 16, 2011

THE STOLEN VAGINA

                                                 By: Ali Afegbua


The neighbors just had their two daughters “circumcised”, these young girls were recently taken on a short trip to have their sexuality and natural rights cut away from them for the rest of their lives. These girls are just four and two years old respectively and some mothers actually get it done at birth, this makes me sick, and I heard their mother proudly saying that it’s their tradition to mutilate girls.

Female genital mutilation includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The procedure has no health benefits for the girls and women. Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating and later, potential childbirth complications and newborn deaths.

Despite all the noise being made about the evil and dangers that surround female genital mutilation practices in Africa, you still find people like this woman engaging in it proudly and saying that its part of their culture and tradition, one of the excuses for this is always “to prevent the girls from being promiscuous” why don’t they chop off entire male genitals, not just foreskin, since taking away sexual pleasure is the best remedy for promiscuity?

An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and woman worldwide are currently living with the consequences of female genital mutilation.

In Africa, an estimated 92 million girls have undergone female genital mutilation; this makes me so sad because, if these girls could choose, I am sure they wouldn’t want to loose the right to an intact vagina.

In Nigeria, there is awareness about the need to stop female genital mutilation even some government ministries have shown support through campaigns against these wicked practices, although this is not enough, penalties need to be put in place in the laws and should be implemented strictly. You still find families submitting their female infants to be mutilated, and saying its part of culture, this is beyond sick and I feel these people have been brainwashed to believe that a woman is a hole for her husband to fill out, so a baby can fall out nine months later.

According to Waris Dirie Somali former supermodel and human rights activist, “FGM has nothing to do with culture, religion or tradition, and is a crime committed on innocent little girls…it is a crime that needs to be stopped and those who commit it should be prosecuted”.

In my opinion, I will say that female genital mutilation is about the suppression of women. It’s the most violent form of suppression of women one could think of, an attempt to control a woman by controlling her body and her sexuality.

What really has to change is the perception of women, I believe that financial independence is a key factor for African women in gaining a stronger position within society, a woman with options to support her self and her family, will see herself as someone more important than just a tool to satisfy her husbands sexual and reproductive needs, and also that she doesn’t need to give up parts of her anatomy to prove her chastity to anyone.

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